Lessons from Pension Reform in the Americas

Latin American experiments with pension reform began when Chile converted its public pay-as-you-go system to a system of private individual accounts in the early 1980s. Several other Latin American countries then followed suit, inspired both by Chile's reforms and by World Bank recommendations stressing compulsory government-mandated individual saving accounts. Individual accounts were subsequently introduced in a number of countries in Europe and Asia. Many are now re-evaluating these privatisations in an effort to 'reform the reform' to make these systems more efficient and equitable. This volume is the first to assess pension reforms in this new 'post-privatization' era. After a discussion on demographic trends in the foreword by Nobel laureate Robert W. Fogel, Section 1 of the book includes chapters on the role of pension system default options, the impact of gender, and a discussion of the World Bank's policies on pension reform. The chapter on the evidence from Chile's new social protection survey points to key lessons from the world's first privatization. Section 2 offers in-depth analysis of several significant reform initiatives in the hemisphere, and includes chapters on the United States, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay and Argentina. The volume provides an unparalleled account of the lessons from pension reform in the Americas, addressing the most pressing policy issues and highlighting a broad range of country experiences. Contributors to this volume - Maria De Los Angeles Yanez, Professor, Department of Actuarial Studies, Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico, Jere R. Behrman, W. R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Economics, University of Pennsylvania, John Beshears, Department of Economics, Harvard University, David Bravo, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of Chile, Robert Brown, Professor, University of Statistics and Actuarial Science, University of Waterloo, Eliana Carranza, Universidad del Pacifico, James J. Choi, Assistant Professor of Finance, Yale School of Management, John F. Cogan, Leonard and Shirley Ely Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, and Professor, Public Policy Program, Stanford University, Alejandra Cox Edwards, Professor of Economics, California State University, Long Beach, Michelle Dion, Assistant Professor at the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology, Robert W. Fogel, Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of American Institutions, and director of the Center for Population Economics, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago, Robert Holzmann, Director of the Social Protection Department of the World Bank, Estelle James, consultant to the World Bank and USAID, Stephen J. Kay, coordinator of Latin American analysis, Research Department, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, David Laibson, Professor of Economics at Harvard University and Research Associate, NBER's Programs on Aging, Economic Fluctuations, and Asset Pricing, Brigitte C. Madrian, Aetna Professor of Public Policy and Corporate Management, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard, Juliana Martinez Franzoni, researcher, Social Research Institute, University of Costa Rica, Milko Matijascic, Director of the Salesian Center for Public Policy at the Salesian University in Americana, Brazil, Alberto Arenas de Mesa, Budget Director, Finance Ministry of Chile , Olivia S. Mitchell, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Professor of Insurance and Risk Management, Executive Director of the Pension Research Council, and Director of the Boettner Center on Pensions and Retirement Research, the Wharton School, Eduardo Moron, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Universidad del Pacifico, Peru, Truman Packard, senior Economist, Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office, World Bank, Rafael Rofman, Senior Economist for Social Protection in the Latin American and the Caribbean region of the World Bank, Rodolfo Saldain, principal partner of Saldain and Igarzabal, Tapen Sinha, ING Comercial America Chair Professor, Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM), Petra E. Todd, Professor of Economics, University of Pennsylvania,, Kurt Weyland, Professor of Government, University of Texas, Austin, Rebeca Wong, Associate Director of the Maryland Population Research Center, University of Maryland.